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Mead,
The Natural Aphrodisiac, Gets A Revival
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A West
Sussex winery is hoping to revive interest in the medieval
honey-based drink, mead, by establishing the UK's first National Mead
Week from 7-13 August. Lurgashall Winery, the UK's largest mead
maker, has organised a week of events in conjunction with the Lythe
Hill Hotel & Spa in Haslemere.
Organisers of
Mead Week are keen to point out this ancient drink's reputation as an
aid to virility, fertility and longevity. As Jerome Schooler, the
American-born proprietor of Lurgashall Winery explains: "It was
believed that mead had healing qualities and was an elixir to
prolonged life, for strength and virility. Mead was the honeymoon
drink, where the couple had a glass of mead each day or night for one
lunar month, to make their marriage happy and fruitful. Such
attributes are back in demand today."
Couples
wanting to put mead to the test can book into the Lythe Hill Hotel
& Spa for a Mead Lovers' Break costing £210 per person for
48 hours DBB, including a tour of the winery and a bottle of mead in
the room before bedtime.
One lucky
couple could win a seven-night virility-boosting stay at the hotel by
explaining in 50 words, and with tact, how mead-enhanced passion
could be an advantage to their relationship (emails to david.armstrong@lyhtehill.co.uk).
During the month of August - designated Mead Month at the four-star
hotel - there will be mead-based cocktails, a menu featuring dishes
cooked in honey or with mead and an emphasis on the health-giving
qualities of honey in the hotel's Armana spa.
Visitors with
charity rather than passion on their minds can enjoy a charity
luncheon or Black Tie Gala Dinner at the Lythe Hill Hotel, in aid of
Bees for Development. A guest speaker from the charity will explain
the work that they do - from bee conservation to providing
information and advice to beekeepers in developing countries as a
means of creating sustainable livelihoods.
During Mead
Week, Lurgashall Winery will open its doors to mead enthusiasts and
novice mead drinkers from all over the country. Tasting is available
everyday but booking is essential for the guided technical tour of
the winery with Wine Maker, Ian Morris and Consultant Wine Maker,
Hans Schliefer, which takes place on Wednesday 9 August at 2pm.
A full house
is expected for the winery's Open Day on Friday 11 August from 2pm
when visitors can enjoy a tour of the winery and mead tasting as well
as traditional rural crafts and entertainment.
Lurgashall
Winery is producing a celebratory mead for the event which will be
available to buy during the week at each of the events and during the
month of August.
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